


Overwhelming

by DavidtheWriter (DavidtheTraveler)



Category: Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spider-Man (Tom Holland Movies)
Genre: Gen, Hospitalization, Overstimulation, Pepper Potts (mentioned) - Freeform, Sensory Overload
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-04
Updated: 2020-01-04
Packaged: 2021-02-27 10:29:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,847
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22115668
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DavidtheTraveler/pseuds/DavidtheWriter
Summary: Peter Parker is absolutely thrilled to be going on his first mission with the Avengers.  At least he’s trying to be thrilled, though it’s not easy beating out all of the nerves concerning what he’s been invited into.  But if the pressure of actually working with these six legends wasn’t already too much, the stakes he’ll face might just be overwhelming.
Relationships: Pepper Potts/Tony Stark, Peter Parker & Natasha Romanov, Peter Parker & Tony Stark
Comments: 12
Kudos: 102





	Overwhelming

**Author's Note:**

  * For [katiecat_SAR](https://archiveofourown.org/users/katiecat_SAR/gifts).



“…and whatever it is, it’s kicking up a lot of gamma radiation, so we’ll definitely need you there, Bruce, when we actually get in there.”

“We’ll probably also need to bring the new portable scanning equipment Tony and I developed, just in case it’s not safe to move. I don’t think we want to make the same mistake as last time.”

“I have already apologized many times for that matter. Must you continue to bring it up?”

“Relax, Thor. He’s just saying we need to be careful. He’s not blaming you for what happened.”

“Even if it was his fault.”

Ms. Romanov lightly smacked Mr. Barton’s head at that as Cpt. Rogers attempted to get the discussion back on track, but failing miserably as Thor sputtered in disbelief and turned to Mr. Barton to redress him. Mr. Stark hadn’t even said a word, just taking in the chaos with a smirk and turning to see if Peter was enjoying it as much as he was.

Personally, Peter wasn’t sure why he was here. Granted, he was technically an Avenger now, but he’d never actually been on any Avenger level missions. Certainly not with the Original Core Six. But for whatever reason Captain America had personally invited him (via Mr. Stark) to at least attend this new mission’s briefing.

Was it strange and out of the blue?

Yes.

Did he feel like he didn’t quite belong at this table with all these “legends”?

Definitely yes.

Was he about to walk away from whatever opportunity they were about to throw at him?

Hell no.

Besides, it’s not like they actually wanted him out in the field with them. That would be ridiculous. This was a team of six heavy hitters, comprised of two of the best minds, three of the strongest bodies, and four of the finest fighters Earth had ever seen. What real business did one spider-bitten teen from Queens have with them? Most likely there were gonna stick him on reconnaissance or just have him guard the quinjet.

But hey, like he said, he wasn’t about to pass up an opportunity to work with The Avengers.

His thoughts continued to drift as his awareness was lazily pulled back into the present by Cpt. Rogers finally having enough of Mr. Barton and Thor yelling at each other and forcibly pulling the briefing back on topic.

“Regardless of what might have transpired in the past, we will all do our best not to disturb anything that might be prone to unstable reactions. Is that clear?”

His rather pointed look at Mr. Barton was enough to get him to shut up, and Thor silenced his own retort when Cpt. Rogers switched over to himself.

“Now, here’s the team line-up. Bruce, you’re our support in the quinjet, and Agent Green is our backup just in case. Clint and I are on ground approach, pulling the guards away from their posts and getting them to flush out their defenses. Tony, Thor, you’re air support. We need those shields and turrets brought down. After that, Thor’ll join us on the ground and Tony will join the infiltration squad.

“Nat, Queens, you’re infiltration.”

The nickname finally caught Peter’s attention, and he sat up straight in surprise, glancing briefly at Ms. Romanov, who briefly caught his eye before turning back to Steve.

“We need you two to get inside and shut down their power before getting in and securing the lab. Once you’re done, you’ll radio us and we’ll join you to start sorting out whatever they’ve got down there. Understood?”

Ms. Romanov nodded in affirmation, but Peter was still caught off guard.

“Queens? You get all that?”

Peter took a second to realize he’d been addressed, then stuttered out a yes.

“Alright then, suit up. You’ve got fifteen minutes.”

The others all started to head out to prepare, but Peter remained in his seat, still overwhelmed by what had just happened.

“Hey, kid, you okay?”

Peter looked up. Mr. Stark was standing there, looking concerned. Or at least as concerned as someone as self-assured and blatantly egotistical as Tony Stark ever could look.

“Yeah, yeah, I’m—I’m totally fine.”

Something in Mr. Stark’s face seemed to both harden and soften at the same time. “Are you sure? ‘Cause if you don’t think you’re ready—“

“No!” Peter suddenly blurted out, then took a moment to compose himself and try again. “No, I’m good. I can do this.”

Mr. Stark stared at him for a moment, then let out a breath. “Alright, if you’re sure then. Go suit up, kid. We don’t want you being late to your first mission, eh?”

Peter nodded, offering a smile. But as soon as he left, that smile immediately turned into a grimace. Mr. Stark might have been trying to help his nerves, but pointing out exactly what was making him so nervous had had the opposite effect on him.

***********************

The trip in the quinjet had passed thus far mostly in silence. Peter hadn’t had the heart to try and talk to anyone, and no one had done much in way of addressing him in return. Though to be fair, they were probably all getting into mission mode.

Now a few hours in, and with everyone mostly settled, conversation between the others had shifted to a much lighter topic.

“I’m just saying, it would mean a lot to them if there was more than just me there to cheer them up. Those kids could use a bit of a good time.”

“Indeed. I have found those young patients to have truly inspiring warrior spirits on the occasions that I have visited your hallowed halls of healing.”

“I don’t know, I doubt there’s a lot of kids who want to see a random skittish scientist who happens to have a really bad temper.”

“We could always try introducing them to the Hulk. I’m sure they’d like that.”

“…are you actually insane? That is literally the worst idea ever.”

“Whoa, hey, I was just joking. Jeez, cool your jets, Doc.”

Mr. Barton’s sick sense of humor aside, it was actually a rather nice discussion.

“What about you, Nat? You ever think about doing stuff like that?”

“Not sure what kid would want to meet some ex-Russian assassin.”

“Maybe not, but I know a lot of girls who’d be inspired by seeing a strong take charge woman who doesn’t define herself by the men in her life.”

Peter hadn’t even realized he’d spoken up until he noticed everyone looking at him. He could almost feel his face turning red at the unexpected attention.

“He’s got a point, Nat,” Mr. Barton finally said. “Girls love it when they see another girl who can beat the snot out of a man.”

“That would explain why your daughter looks up to your wife so much, Clint.”

The other guys had a good chuckle at Mr. Barton’s expense, but after a moment Cpt. Rogers turned back to Peter to address him.

“What about you, Queens? You ever think about doing anything like that?”

Peter faltered for a moment. “Well, I…I don’t know. I’ve…I’ve never really thought about it. I mean…I’m not exactly a world famous hero like you guys. Would they…would those kids even be interested in meeting me?”

Cpt. Rogers offered a smile. “I think they would. You and Nat might not think anyone wants to meet you, but I could think of a few that’d be quite thrilled to do so.”

Peter didn’t respond, turning to Mr. Stark, who’d mostly stayed quiet through all this. Mr. Stark caught his eye, and just smiled and nodded at him, prompting Peter to return with his own small smile.

A sudden beeping from the console in front of him caught Cpt. Rogers’ attention, and he turned to check it.

“ETA to arrival point is five minutes. Everyone to mission mode.”

Five minutes. As if Peter needed any more reason to feel nervous and overwhelmed.

***********************

_“Barton, watch your six!”_

_“I see them. Four more on the East side, too, Cap.”_

_“On it. How’s that shield coming?”_

_“Approximately thirty-three seconds to shield collapse, sir.”_

_“Thanks, Friday.”_

The battle chatter filled Peter’s ears, as did the echoes of the fight that came around the side of the building. It was odd hearing but not seeing the actual action, but he didn’t have to think too hard before gruesome images began to fill his mind. Never before had he been so grateful for his heightened senses, as the overbearing awareness of what was around him helped to block out the more terrible imaginings.

He allowed that heightened awareness to pull him back into focusing on his partner working next to him. Black Widow was working diligently to open this side entrance, unprotected by the primary shield matrix. That way they could get in without having to face the hordes of defenses that would be amassing at the main gate once Mr. Stark—Iron Man—had gotten the shield down and Thor had taken out the gun towers.

With a final loud click, the door lock disengaged, and Black Widow carefully pushed the door in, slipping in carefully once it was wide enough. And Peter quickly followed her in, silently closing the door again behind him.

The hallway they had entered was dimly lit, but not too dark to see in. Carefully, the two checked for any surveillance. Finding none, Black Widow straightened up and tapped her com piece.

“We’re in.”

_“Awesome,”_ Mr. Stark—Iron Man, mission mode means Iron Man—replied. _“Kid, you still linked up?”_

Peter activated the HUD system in his new suit. Sure enough, it immediately linked up with Friday and showed he still had a strong connection.

“Check.”

_“Good. Friday is sending you what we’ve got on this facility, but just to be sure you should set your own scanners to map the interior, in case something’s been altered or changed. She’s also sending you the tracking information on the artifact, so you should be able to find the quickest path down to the lab.”_

As he’d been talking, the relevant information had appeared on Peter’s display, showing the hallway layout as well as a pulsing signal which had to be the artifact’s energy signature as detected by his new suit.

_“Widow’s still in charge, but you’re gonna have to take the lead a little on this so you two don’t get lost. Got that?”_

Peter gulped in a breath, but nodded before responding.

“Yeah, yeah I…I got it.”

_“Good. We’ll be getting down there to help you guys as soon as possible. ‘Til then, watch each other’s back, okay? Good luck.”_

Peter took another shaky breath before turning to face Widow. She nodded her head at him.

“You heard him, kid. Show us the way.”

Peter nodded, then focused in on the map layout on his display. The scanners were confirming that the path to the left led to a series of armories and troop barracks, but the path to the right went straight to a set of stairs heading down into the lower levels, where the energy signal was being generated.

So just head right. Easy enough.

Peter kept low and close to the wall, but didn’t let that slow him down as he and Widow crept down the hallway toward the stairway. After a few moments, they made it to the doors. A quick check by Widow for surveillance—again, nothing—and they swiftly made their way down three flights before the stairway came to an end.

Judging by where the signal was coming from, they needed to go down at least two more levels, maybe three. Which meant having to find another set of stairs heading further down. But the old maps showed nothing this deep. Peter’s anxiety was starting to rise again.

“Hey, kid, you good?”

Peter turned to look at Widow. Her face was still as serious as he’d always seen it, but there was a hint of concern that almost seemed to soften her gaze a bit. It was at least enough to get him to explain.

“The signal’s still a few levels down, but the maps we’ve got don’t show any known structure this far below the structure.”

“Then we’ll just have to scout it out ourselves,” she said simply. “Don’t worry, this isn’t my first time going in somewhere blind. Just stick close, and watch my six. We’ll make it down there, trust me.”

It wasn’t exactly a stellar pep talk, but her determined tone and look oddly enough were able to calm him down enough to focus back in on what needed to be done. And with that newly refound focus, they moved into the new hallway.

This one was slightly brighter than the higher level had been, and the walls seemed newer, smooth and well maintained. They followed the path, taking turns at various times, occasionally coming up on dead ends. At least with Peter’s scanners on, they were able to avoid doubling back on themselves more than they had to.

It was just as they were coming to what must have been the far corner of this level from where they’d come in that Peter sensed it. That same sense of danger that he’d come to rely on, and his reactions kicked in.

Without even thinking, he’d reached forward, grabbed Widow, jerked them both over to the left, and fwipped out a web shot at whatever had triggered his sense just as a gunshot rang out.

Peter quickly checked where he’d shot his web. There behind them was a guard, frantically pawing at the webbing now covering his face. Widow quickly rushed forward and knocked him out, and Peter rushed over to help her tie him up and pull him into a nearby alcove, right next to where a bullet hole showed what might have happened had he not reacted in time.

“Nice one, kid,” Widow offered, “but we gotta be careful now. They’ll probably figure out someone’s in here after that. Any sign of another stairway?”

Peter shook himself and checked the map layout.

“Just around the next corner.”

Widow nodded, and the two started toward it.

But just before they reached it, a series of angry red dots and warnings flashed on Peter’s map display. He stopped, holding out his arm to stop Widow as well.

“I think we’ve got company.”

Widow tensed, but didn’t otherwise react. “How many?”

“About six, just around the corner outside the stairwell.”

She considered that for a moment, then pulled something off of her belt and activated it. At Peter’s questioning gaze—which he wondered how she could tell was there with his mask on—she explained.

“Stun grenade. Won’t take them all out, but will at least cause a distraction. Once it goes off, we move in. Clear?”

He nodded, then stepped back so she could aim her shot. A quick toss, and it rolled around the corner and into the midst of the assembled guards. There were several confused grunts, a loud beep, and then finally a burst of bright light and sound, which the suit thankfully filtered out for him.

“Go!”

Peter didn’t need to be told twice. He jumped out and fwipped a pair of lines, grabbing two of the guards and slamming them into each other. Another raced at him, but Widow took him down with a few quick strikes, moving quickly on to a fourth. This just left the two who’d been most affected by the blast, who Peter wasted no time in tying up with the first two.

“Not bad, kid.”

Peter turned to check on his partner. Widow had already bagged up her own pair.

“You did good. Now come on, we got a job to finish.”

Peter immediately followed her into the stairwell, descending down two more flights, before his display showed that they were now level with the energy signature.

“This is it, the-the lab level,” he stammered out, then silently cursed himself for the slip up. But if Widow noticed, she didn’t say anything, instead checking the access door, which had a security lock on it.

“This’ll take a minute to get through,” she announced, pulling out a small set of odd tools and going to work on the lock.

“Did you really mean that?” she suddenly asked after a few moments.

“What?” Peter had no idea what she was talking about.

“Back in the quinjet, when you said you thought a lot of kids would be excited to meet me. Did you really mean that?”

Peter was surprised for a moment, but realizing that hesitating might indicate a lie, he quickly jumped in.

“Yeah, yes, I-I did. I…I really think there’s a lot of kids, girls especially, who would be thrilled to meet a kick butt heroine like you. Someone who can take down anyone and doesn’t answer to a man just because he told her to do something. Someone who believes strongly in what she believes is right and wrong, and does her best to protect the world in the special ways only she can.

“I mean, yeah, you probably shouldn’t bring up some of the…more intense stuff you’ve had to do, but…but I think they would adore getting to meet a woman who is confident in who she is and isn’t afraid to use what she’s been given to help those in need.”

Widow didn’t respond for a moment, continuing to work on the lock. Then finally, the lock clicked open, and she put away her tools and turned back to him.

“Thank you. That’s…a very nice thing to say about me.”

“Well, it’s true. I mean…you are Black Widow.”

She shrugged. “What about you, though? Don’t you think they’d be thrilled to meet you too?”

Peter’s gaze drifted down to the floor. “Oh, I don’t…I don’t think so. I’m just a kid from Queens.”

“Who happens to be incredibly strong and smart, and can fly through the air using nothing but his own wits and a little spider webbing he invented himself. You don’t think some young kid wouldn’t want to see someone who’s pulled himself up and made himself a hero, just because he has all that power and wants to use it to help people?”

Peter stared at her, faltering on his words. After a minute of his flounder, she let out a breathy sigh and offered a crooked smirk.

“Tell you what, kid. After this, you and me are gonna go and visit one of the local hospitals in Queens, just the two of us. If I can agree that I might be welcomed there, then so can you.”

Peter was blanking, unable to come up with a response to such a resounding declaration of his worth from someone who had no business believing in him that strongly, but after a few awkward moments, he finally managed to offer up a smile and nod, which she returned before resuming her serious tone and turning back to the door.

“The main lab is just past these doors. What can your scanners detect on the other side?”

Peter double checked his map readout, combing every detail he could from the display.

“The lab’s only about forty feet wide, but it stretches past my detection limit heading to the left. The artifact’s right in front of where we are now. There’s four guards and two researchers in the chamber, but there could be more further down.”

“Alright, here’s how we’ll do this. We bust open the doors, and you take to the ceiling while I go after the guards. Grab the researchers first, then you can help me with the guards. Got it?”

“Yes ma’am.”

“Good. On three.”

Peter readied himself, double checking his web solution before putting himself in position to fwip and swing upward.

“One…two…three!”

The doors burst open, and the two of them flew out, one literally as his web line grabbed hold of the rafters and pulled him upward.

Guns immediately started blazing, and Peter found himself having to take cover as soon as he was up there. But Widow’s actions soon drew their fire, leaving him free to slink over to where the researchers were cowering and pull them up with his webbing.

With them safely cocooned up in the rafters, he dropped down on one of the remaining guards, disorienting him enough to have him barrel into another, who found himself stuck to the first by something white and very sticky.

Peter flipped and twirled through the air as he jumped around the final one, who had thought he’d pinned down Widow but was now being blind-sided by some acrobatic nut. Which was exactly what Widow wanted, as she came up behind him and brought him down with a quick punch.

But their victory was short lived, as alarm bells started to sound, and shouting could be heard from further down the lab.

“We need to secure this area before the others come down. Check to see if there’s any blast doors that separate out the sections.”

Peter flew back up to the ceiling, hoping a bird’s eye view would help. Sure enough, there were obvious grooves about forty feet further down the way, and a control panel on the far side. But based on the shouting, they didn’t have long to shut out the approaching reinforcements.

He quickly swung over, just barely avoiding the gunfire from what sounded like about a dozen new guards. A quick drop and a fast swing, and the doors began to close. But considering how slowly they were going, they wouldn’t be able to stop the approaching troops.

Luckily, Widow had grabbed up one of the fallen guards’ guns, and her careful aim was now taking out the group, or at least pinning them down. For a few tense seconds, Peter wondered if it would work. Then as the doors passed the halfway point it looked as if they wouldn’t make it in time.

But that joy was short lived, as the lead guard suddenly lunged forward from his hiding place, pulling out a grenade and lobbing it through the opening, right at Widow.

There was no time. He had to act.

A quick fwip and he’d grabbed the grenade right out of the air. Swinging it around, he launched it back through the opening just as the doors closed, followed closely by a muffled boom. But the force of the swing as he’d thrown himself through the air had launched him on a path straight for the artifact.

For a split second that seemed to stretch forever, he felt himself careening toward it. And then, he hit.

There was a burst of light and energy, both around and in him. He couldn’t see, he couldn’t feel. All he sensed was the energy. And then as suddenly as it had filled him, it had gone.

But that’s when it got so much worse.

His vision was blinded, not by light, but by just too much information. His sight couldn’t focus, it was picking up on everything, every individual pixel in the HUD display, every minute detail of the room around him that was getting through the mask. He grappled for a moment, somehow having difficulty with his arms, before he finally reached up and pulled off his cowl.

It was both better and worse without it on. He didn’t have millions of pixels each begging for his attention, but the cacophony of sights and smells and sounds around him was overwhelming. He couldn’t focus, he couldn’t even think clearly.

It was too much.

Too Much.

“KID, ARE YOU ALRIGHT?”

Widow’s voice crashed over his eardrums, sending him spiraling. He tried to cover his ears, but it didn’t help. He tried to swat the sounds away, and only managed to knock over an entire lab table with a single swipe of his hand.

The crashes were terrible, but some part of his brain, the only part that could still make sense, seemed to realize what had happened.

That artifact, whatever it was, amplified superhuman abilities. His senses were hyper stimulated, and his enhanced strength had been supped up as well. And now he noticed that his cowl was stuck to his hand, unable to come off. He was a danger to himself and everyone who tried to come near him.

Which meant he had only one choice.

He dropped to the ground, closing his eyes and covering his ears as much as he could as he curled around himself. The spots behind his eyelids and the continuing deluge of noise from Widow and whoever else had arrived was drowning him in its unquenchable flood. He writhed and even whimpered, hoping against hope that he would pass out soon and the nightmare would end.

And to his utter shock and delight, a prick of a needle in his arm almost immediately brought him the sweet release of unconsciousness.

***********************

Awareness came back to Peter slowly. First by the feel of his own tired body, then the sensations of a bed and sheets that most certainly weren’t his, and finally the telltale sounds of a hospital room, complete with beeping heart monitor and occasional drip of liquid in an IV bag.

Peter opened his eyes, then abruptly shut them again. The sudden onset of white was near blinding. Trying again, he carefully slit them open, allowing himself to gradually adjust to the room’s lighting.

The room was nothing special, at least not to someone who had at least a little experience with the general grey aesthetic that the Avengers and S.H.I.E.L.D. seemed to go for in their facilities. It was decorated and arranged the same as a standard hospital room, only with holographic screen readouts instead of actual screens. Even the available chairs and bench by the window were basic fare for hospital visitors.

Peter willed what little energy he could muster to sit up, only to be interrupted by a voice to his left.

“Easy there, kid, you don’t want to strain yourself too soon.”

Peter’s head whirled left, finding the voice’s owner in the form of Widow—no, no, she’s in civilian attire, so you’re not on mission mode right now, so it’s Ms. Romanov. She was leaned back in her seat, a book with Cyrillic lettering on its cover clutched in one of her hands. She had the same look of emotionless calculation that she always seemed to have on her face. But now, in this much safer and more intimate setting, Peter could almost make out a hint of concern in the way her eyebrows were furrowed.

He turned forward again, unable to keep facing her as embarrassment and guilt started rising up full force in the pit of his stomach.

“Did we win? Did we…did we complete the mission?”

After a pause, she replied. “Yes.”

He nodded, though her answer hadn’t exactly made him feel better.

“So I…I didn’t completely…completely mess things up?”

This time the pause lasted much longer. But instead of her voice that broke it, it was her hand coming to rest on his shoulder.

“Hey, don’t worry about it. You did good. You got the lab secured and made sure no one else messed with the target. Besides, we couldn’t’ve known that artifact would have such a powerful effect on you.”

He nodded again, but didn’t respond. After another few moments, a thought occurred to him, and in his fatigued state he blurted it out before he could stop himself.

“I guess Mr. Stark must be pretty embarrassed about all this.”

The hand on his shoulder seemed to tense slightly before Ms. Romanov addressed him again.

“What makes you say that?”

Peter would like nothing more than to not be having this conversation. But the cat was already out of the bag, and Ms. Romanov didn’t seem like the kind of person to just let something like that go.

Peter sighed. “He thought I was ready. He thought I was ready to be a part of the team, to be an Avenger. He vouched for me, put his own reputation on the line to support me. And on my very first mission I have a nervous breakdown because of a little sensory overload. How could he not be embarrassed?”

Silence reigned once again at that. Finally, she responded.

“I don’t think embarrassment is what made him sit in here for hours on end worrying about you until we finally called in Pepper to take him home and make him rest.”

Peter couldn’t help but snort at that.

“I’m serious. He refused to leave your side for anything or anyone, except for her. And even she had some issues getting him to leave. Apparently she had to threaten to have him sedated and dragged home, and even then we had to promise to constantly watch over you and let him know when you were awake.”

Peter allowed himself a small smile. Ms. Romanov rubbed his shoulder again.

“Trust me, all he cared about was making sure you were okay. Besides, you just got whammied by something weird and unexpected. Every single one of us has been through that.”

Peter turned to her, the small smile still on his face.

“Really?”

She nodded. “If you don’t believe me, I can get Barton to tell you about what happened when Thor first came to Earth, assuming he doesn’t try to interrupt and explain what ‘really happened’. Honestly, those two just will not leave each other alone.”

Peter snorted again, finally feeling some of the tension in his gut dissipating. It wasn’t much, but it was something.

***********************

The next hour or so was spent listening to Ms. Romanov complaining about the various other Avengers’ eccentricities. From Cpt. Rogers’—Steve’s—old fashioned slang that he still used with himself when he thought no one else was listening, to Dr. Banner—Bruce—and his surprisingly deep knowledge of modern pop culture (who knew the Hulk was a fan of reality TV?). It seemed that Ms. Romanov—“Just call me Nat, kid, no need for all that.”—had dirt on everyone in the tower.

Granted, that was to be expected from a master spy, but still, it was fun to have a little harmless gossip about what he’d perceived as such pillars of inscrutable heroism.

Plus Mr. Barton looked rather nice in a dress.

“For your own good, don’t ever tell him that I showed you. He’ll swear you to secrecy, and he’s got this whole spiel about how it was ‘vitally important to the mission’, and it so reeks of insecure masculinity. Honestly, he sounds less like a master spy and assassin and more like some dumb jock from high school, it’s embarrassing. Trust me, you’re better off just playing ignorant.”

Peter snickered into his water but nodded in acknowledgement.

Then there was a knock at the door.

“Knock knock, anyone awake in here?” the visitor said as they opened the door and started to enter.

It was Mr. Stark.

Peter felt himself freeze, but Nat turned to address him.

“Yeah, he’s awake.”

Mr. Stark stopped just inside the door. He looked almost nervous about coming in, which was a surprise to Peter.

“Good, good, that’s…that’s good.”

Nat must have realized what was going on, because she immediately grabbed up her book and stood to leave.

“Why don’t I give you guys some privacy?”

Mr. Stark nodded at her, then she turned back to Peter.

“Remember what I said, kid. And don’t forget, we’re still due for that hospital visit together.”

Peter nodded, and she gave him a warm smile before leaving.

Mr. Stark took a little longer to make his way into the room proper.

“So…everything okay now? You doing…doing alright, everything…back to normal?”

“Yeah, yes, sir, a lot…lot better now.”

Mr. Stark just nodded, finally making it over to the chair Nat had been in and taking a seat. For a long time he just sat there, and Peter could feel the awkwardness mounting. Finally, he let out a sigh and spoke up.

“Listen, kid, I’m sorry about putting you through all that. I…I should have been certain you were ready to go before I sent you in there with that…that thing waiting for us.”

“No, Mr. Stark, it’s okay, you didn’t know—“

“But I should have known. You are my responsibility. Yeah, you can take care of yourself, and I don’t know a single person who’s not proud of what you can do and have done. But I’m the one who made you an Avenger, so anything that happens to you while you’re on a mission with this team is because of me.”

Peter made to interrupt, but Mr. Stark just pressed on.

“Look, I obviously pushed you too hard. You weren’t ready, and I ignored that. So we…we’ll...we’ll just have to wait a little longer before we try that again.”

“No!” Peter found himself shouting out. After an awkward moment, he tentatively turned to look at the older man.

Mr. Stark looked startled. It was weird. But Peter needed to make sure he understood, so he tried again.

“I…I mean, I don’t think we have to wait. I…I really want to do this. I know…I know I messed up, but…but this is what I wanted, and…and I’m ready for it. I know…I know I can do this. I just…need to be more careful.”

“But—“

“But nothing. You may have made me an Avenger, but I’m the one who agreed to it. I know I can do this. I just…need to be reminded sometimes, I guess, and…and believe in myself. Like…like you believe in me.”

Mr. Stark was looking gobsmacked at this point, but his eyes had also turned soft, and maybe even a little wet. But he didn’t let it show for long. He sniffed and rubbed his nose, seeming to somehow turn off those more vulnerable emotions in the process.

“Alright then, kid. You’re still an Avenger. But, I think we need to give you some time to recover before we actually put you back in the field. And we could probably do with some actual mission training. Romanov says you did good, but I’m sure you can do better.”

And he clapped his shoulder as he made to leave, but Peter, for whatever reason his addled brain had decided to act on, leaned up and pulled him into a hug. For a moment, it was just him awkwardly holding onto the genius billionaire playboy philanthropist. But then Mr. Stark allowed his own arms to reach around the young boy, and the two found themselves in a surprisingly warm and welcome hug.

They stayed like that for who knew how long, to the point where it actually started to feel a bit too much for Peter again.

But for once, it was a good kind of overwhelming.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you to [katiecat_SAR](https://archiveofourown.org/users/katiecat_SAR/pseuds/katiecat_SAR) for requesting this.
> 
> Thanks for reading. Feel free to leave a kudo or comment. Or you can also come over and talk to me on [Tumblr](https://davidthetraveler.tumblr.com/).


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